Planning an Implantation of a Cardiac Implant

1. A medical imaging system for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising: an interface configured to receive a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle; a processor in communication with the interface, wherein the processor is programmed to: receive, via the interface, the plurality of 3D cardiac images; segment within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a left ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a mitral valve; simulate the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; evaluate an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; determine in each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images the overlap at a plurality of different spatial locations along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant; and provide feedback information, via a feedback unit, to a user indicative of the overlap evaluated.

2. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to simulate the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; and evaluate the overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images.

3. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to provide feedback information to the user indicative of the overlap evaluated in each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images.

4. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to provide feedback information including a quantified extent of the overlap and/or a location where the overlap occurs in the 3D cardiac images.

5. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to determine for each of the plurality of different spatial locations a maximum overlap by comparing the overlaps in the 3D cardiac images at the respective spatial locations with each other.

6. The medical imaging system according to claim 5 , wherein the processor is further programmed to provide a graphical representation illustrating the maximum overlaps as a function of the different spatial locations along the longitudinal axis (z).

7. The medical imaging system according to claim 5 , wherein the maximum overlap is determined at a plurality of spatial locations along the longitudinal axis according to a defined step size.

8. The medical imaging system according to claim 5 , further comprising selecting one of the plurality of 3D cardiac images in which the maximum overlap is determined for each spatial location on the longitudinal axis.

9. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to simulate the cardiac implant by means of a virtual model having an elliptical cross-section, wherein a normal to the elliptical cross-section coincides with a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends.

10. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to allow a user to vary one or more of a size, a shape, or a position of the simulated cardiac implant.

11. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to segment the target implant region and the locally adjacent region based on a model-based segmentation.

12. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the interface is further configured to receive the plurality of cardiac 3D images including 3D transesophageal echocardiography images acquired with an ultrasound imaging system.

13. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the locally adjacent region includes a mitral valve leaflet.

14. The medical imaging system according to claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine segmented trajectories for a plurality of different surface points on the mitral valve leaflet.

15. The medical imaging system according to claim 14 , wherein the overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region is calculated by determining intersections between segmented trajectories of the mitral valve leaflet and the simulated cardiac implant.

16. The medical imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of different spatial locations along the longitudinal axis (z) is referenced with respect to an aortic annulus plane.

17. A medical imaging system for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising: an interface configured to receive a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle; a processor in communication with the interface, wherein the processor is programmed to: receive, via the interface, the plurality of 3D cardiac images; segment within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a right ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a tricuspid valve; simulate the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; evaluate an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; determine in each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images the overlap at a plurality of different spatial locations along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant; and provide feedback information, via a feedback unit, to a user indicative of the overlap evaluated.

18. A method for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle; segmenting within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a left ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a mitral valve; simulating the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; evaluating an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; determining for each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images a maximum overlap along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant by comparing the overlaps in the 3D cardiac images with each other; and providing feedback information to a user concerning the evaluated overlap.

19. A method for planning an implantation of a cardiac implant, comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle; segmenting within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant, wherein the target implant region is a part of a right ventricular outflow tract and the locally adjacent region is a part of a tricuspid valve; simulating the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; evaluating an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant with the segmented locally adjacent region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; determining for each of the plurality of 3D cardiac images a maximum overlap along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the target implant region substantially extends as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant by comparing the overlaps in the 3D cardiac images with each other; and providing feedback information to a user concerning the evaluated overlap.

20. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with program code, which when executed by a processor, enable the processor to: receive a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac images showing different conditions of a heart during a cardiac cycle; segment within the plurality of 3D cardiac images a target implant region and a locally adjacent region that could interfere with the cardiac implant; simulate the implantation of the cardiac implant within the target implant region in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; evaluate an overlap of the simulated cardiac implant along a longitudinal axis (z) along which the cardiac implant substantially extends into the segmented locally adjacent region as a function of a depth of the cardiac implant in at least two of the plurality of 3D cardiac images; and provide feedback information to a user concerning the evaluated overlap.